HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Newsletter - 10/07/04EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
October 7, 2004
City of Eugene
777 Pearl Street, Room 105
Eugene, Oregon 97401-2793
(541) 682-5010
(541) 682-5414 (FAX)
www.ci.eugene.or, us
NEW HULT CENTER MARQUEES
ELECTIONS 2004
GOT QUESTIONS? GET ANSWERS, 24/7r.
SPECIALIZED RECREATION AT SPENCER BUTTE CHALLENGE COURSE
POLICE VOLUNTEERS TO STAFF BOOTH AT HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW
WEST UNIVERSITY NEIGHBORS INFORMATION FAIR
FRIENDL Y AREA NEIGHBORS INVITED TO HELP DESIGN NEIGHBORHOOD PARK
TRANSGENDER ISSUES TRAINING TAKES PLACE OCTOBER 18
Hult Center Marquees
What's new at the Hult Center? The clickety-clack of the old flipper
dot marquee in use outside the Hilton and Hult for the past twenty ~ ~
years can no longer be heard. The old system has been replaced
by an LED reader board technology with Daktronics marquee faces
and the results have been terrific. More variety, easier to read
messages and cool graphics are just a few of the advantages as
well as energy, repair and maintenance savings, generating a lot of
positive feedback from staff, the public and resident companies.
Look for new graphics and more creative ways to message as staff
continues to explore the possibilities this much-improved
technology offers. For more information, call Hult Center
Operations Director Mark Loigman at 682-5307.
Elections 2004
The City Recorder's Office, with the assistance
of ISD's Document and Distribution Services,
VOTE has produced a Voters' Pamphlet for the November 2 General Election. Pamphlets
should begin arriving in mailboxes shortly after October 8.
The City of Eugene pamphlet includes information on candidates for Mayor, City
Council and EWEB positions. Information concerning measures placed on the ballot
by the City and Eugene School District 4J is also included in the pamphlet, which is being mailed to all
residential units within the city limits. Because a School District 4J measure is on the ballot, the City has
produced a second pamphlet containing just the 4J measure. That smaller pamphlet is being mailed to
residences outside the city limits but within the 4J boundaries.
Extra copies of the Eugene pamphlet will be available at a number of convenient locations, including the
Eugene Library and its branches, Eugene community centers and public safety stations, Lane County
Elections, and most downtown City offices. If you have questions or need more information, please
contact City Recorder Mary Feldman at 682-8353.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1
October 7, 2004
Got Questions? Get Answers, 24/7!
Starting October 1,2004, L-net, a free online information service provided through Oregon libraries, is
available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Anyone in Oregon can go to www.oreqonlibraries.net to
connect with an expert reference librarian and have a question answered at any time. All that's needed is
a computer and Internet access.
L-net was launched in 2003 as a part-time pilot project by a small network of libraries, including Eugene
Public Library, which will continue to participate. The network has answered an average of 400 questions
each month, with Lane County asking the most in Oregon. Now, 18 university, public, and school
libraries around the state, plus contracted staff at Librarians by Request, a service of Tutor. corn, will
make it possible to have questions answered around the clock.
Everyone who has used a Web search engine knows the frustration of searching for information and
getting thousands of Web site hits in return. L-net's motto could be "Stop Searching, Start Finding!"
Whether it's 3 p.m. at the office or 3 a.m. in a dorm room, whether the need is for reading
recommendations or a chemical analysis of Crater Lake, L-net librarians deliver both factual answers and
information about how to use resources such as the Internet, library catalogs, and online databases.
L-net is supported by funds granted by the Oregon State Library under the Library Services and
Technology Act and by the collaboration of Oregon's libraries. For more information, contact Eugene
Public Library Director Connie Bennett at 682-5450.
Specialized Recreation at Spencer Butte Challenqe Course
The River House Outdoor Program's Spencer Butte Challenge Course has partnered with Mobility
International USA for years to offer challenge course opportunities for people with disabilities from all
over the world. On Sunday, September 26, Hilyard Community Center's Specialized Recreation
Program partnered with the River House Outdoor Program to offer a full day,
Iow and high challenge course for people from our own community with a
variety of disabilities including autism, Down syndrome, visual impairments,
traumatic brain injuries, cerebral palsy, mental illness and substance addiction
and abuse. Sixteen participants, including some family members, ages 9-50+,
worked together as a team to successfully move through a series of challenges
that required communication, problem-solving, trust, and leadership skills.
With the support of the team, participants were able to learn about the
contribution of their individual strengths to the group's success as a whole.
The idea for this partnership came from a Specialized Recreation participant,
and with the diligence of Patty Prather, Specialized Recreation Program
Supervisor, it represents the most diverse group of participants within the
program to come together for any single activity. The combined experience of
staff from both programs contributed to the success of the day. The experience also provided an avenue
for staff to hone their skills in working with people with disabilities as well as with the necessary adaptive
equipment.
Falcon's Flight, built in the summer of 2004, is the newest universal high element at the Spencer Butte
Challenge Course. Fully accessible for people with and without disabilities, Falcon's Flight uses team
support to empower individuals to challenge themselves in a physical and emotionally-safe environment.
Each "Falcon," who is harnessed and attached to a cable, can choose to "fly" up to 45 ft in the air, and
swoop across 90 feet through the Douglas Fir forest at the base of Spencer Butte in South Eugene.
Falcon's Flight has already seen over 100 participants this summer, including over 30 with disabilities.
One participant, who is in addiction recovery, summed up the day by stating, "That's the best high I've
had since becoming clean and sober." For more information, please contact Challenge Course
Programmer Kellie Nemke, at 682-6324.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2
October 7, 2004
Police Volunteers to Staff Booth at Home Improvement Show
This weekend, Lane County homeowners and others will flock to the fairgrounds to attend the 2004 Lane
County Home Improvement Show, expecting to find information and suppliers for home projects. What
they'll also find may be a little more unexpected - a booth that will be chock-full of helpful information
about how to protect those nice home improvements once they've been made.
Employees and volunteers with the Eugene Police Department's Volunteers In Policing Program will be
staffing a booth at the home improvement show beginning tomorrow and running through Sunday,
October 7 - 10. Did you know you can request extra patrol checks by a police volunteer team while
you're out of town? Or have a trained crime prevention specialist come to your home and conduct a
home safety inspection--also at no cost to you? A variety of community policing, crime prevention and
volunteer recruitment materials will be available, including brochures, flyers and useful resources (such
as information on Home Vacation Checks, Volunteers In Policing, Child Safety Seats, Preventing Car
Break-Ins, Home Safety Inspections, Neighborhood Watch and the Citizens' Police Academy); free gun
locks also will be distributed.
In addition to the regularly staffed booth, on Saturday, October 9, Ken Metzler of the Police Department's
Volunteer Speakers' Bureau will give a presentation on Consumer Scams, Fraud and Identity Theft at
one of the Lane County Home Improvement Show workshops. This workshop will be held from 11:00
a.m.- noon in the Green Thumb Garden Theater (Room 4-West, off the south hall lobby.) The Lane
County Home Improvement show is open:
· Thursday, October 7 -- 5:00 to 9:30 p.m.
· Friday, October 8 -- 5:00 to 9:30 p.m.
· Saturday, October 9 -- 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
(Fraud and Identity Theft Workshop -- 11:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m.)
· Sunday, October 10-- 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The Volunteers In Policing Program is currently recruiting volunteers to staff the Squad Car Maintenance
Team and the Public Safety Substations, as well as for a pool of volunteer receptionists to staff a police
information line. Anyone interested in volunteering is encouraged to call the Volunteers in Policing office
at 682-5355.
West University Neighbors Information Fair
On Saturday, October 9, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the former West University Park (E. 14TM Avenue
between Hilyard and Patterson) will be the site of a unique event put on by the West University
Neighbors (WUN), the local neighborhood association.
A special-use permit was granted to the neighborhood association to use the site for its 'WUN Info-Fair"
and neighborhood meeting. Information about neighborhood businesses and local non-profits will be
available. Free bike engraving, voter registration, refreshments, and door prizes will also be featured
during the Info-Fair. Neighbors can learn about their neighborhood association, the neighborhood alley
improvement project, Eugene Parks and Open Space, volunteer opportunities, proposed housing
standards, and more. City Councilor David Kelly and mayoral nominee Kitty Piercy are planning to
attend to talk with fairgoers. The WUN's October meeting will take place from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Neighbors are especially encouraged to learn about and participate in the WUN Map Project, scheduled
to take place on October 16. Information about the project will be available during the Info-Fair. The
WUN Map Project is a collaborative effort between the West University Neighbors and Mark
Schlossberg's 'Applied Geographic Information Systems and Social Planning' class at the University of
Oregon. The class will work with volunteer neighborhood residents to create a digital map of the area,
using handheld mapping devices. The goal is to help neighborhood residents address some of their
concerns while increasing students' awareness of community-building and improving students' technical
skills with the mapping devices. Fair visitors will be able to try the mapping device and sign up to help
on October 16.
For more information about the West University Neighbors or other City neighborhood associations,
contact Steve Norris, Planning and Development, 682-5009, or e-mail steve'd'n°rris~'ci'eu'qene'°r'us'
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3
October 7, 2004
Friendly Area Neiqhbors Invited to Help Design Neighborhood Park
Neighbors of all ages are invited to help re-design Friendly Park, a 1.2-acre neighborhood park located at
the intersection of West 27th Avenue and Monroe Street. The meeting will take place on Thursday,
October 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Adams Elementary School Library, 950 West 22nd Avenue. This
session will be the first in a series of public workshops to discuss improvements to the park.
Improvements will be funded by the parks and open space bond measure approved by voters in 1998.
For more information, contact Philip Richardson, parks planner, at 682-4906 or
philip.s.richardson@ci.eugene.or, us.
Transqender Issues Traininq Takes Place October 18
The Eugene Human Rights Commission's Gender Identity Work Group is sponsoring a Transgender
Issues training on Monday, October 18, 6:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. at Amazon Community Center, 2700
Hilyard Street. City Councilors, Human Rights Program members, and community members are invited.
This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the issues people who are transgender face in
Eugene. Included in the presentation will be personal experiences of people who are transgender and
gender variant, status of local and national legal protections, how community members can be allies, and
how transgender issues relate to other issues of diversity. For more information, contact Human Rights
Program staff member Karen Hyatt at 682-5177.
EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 4
October 7, 2004